Bomb attacks, earthquakes or other disasters often breach the surfaces of airfield runways, roads, and the like with sizeable craters. To avoid or minimize the interruption of essential operations, emergency repair of such breaches may be required. A suitable emergency repair system is one which can be rapidly implemented yet, is sound enough to await more permanent repair measures.
Usually, such emergency repairs are effected by covering the damaged area with some type of mat. For example, the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,244 to Springston utilizes a membrane of fiberglass-reinforced polyester as a trafficable cover over a backfilled crater. The membrane includes anchor holes about its perimeter which receive torque-set rock bolts to secure the membrane to the undisturbed pavement surrounding the crater. Other repair methods involve bridging damaged areas with rigid decking panels which are secured in a similar fashion.
Regardless of the type of mat employed, prior emergency repair systems suffer from a number of disadvantages with regard to the manner in which they are secured. For instance, previous systems require that the mat be pierced with anchor holes which weaken the mat and which must be aligned with the holes drilled into the pavement to receive the rock bolts. Also, because the mat is secured only at a plurality of discrete points along its periphery by the rock bolts, the areas of the mat between bolts are subject to uplifting by jet blast and snagging by aircraft tail hooks. A further disadvantage of previous systems is that the edges of the mat and rock bolts present themselves as sudden projections which can be snagged by tail hooks and which jar vehicles traversing them.
It is an objective of the invention to provide an apparatus and method for rapid repair of damaged surfaces which provide for securing a repair mat without piercing it and which do not require alignment of anchor bolt holes with holes in the mat for installation. It is a further objective of the invention to provide such an apparatus and method which allow for securing a repair mat continuously along its edge to prevent uplifting by jet blast while avoiding projections which are subject to snagging and which can jar and thereby damage vehicles traversing the mat.